By Danai Nhando When someone apologises the courteous thing to do is to respond and in most cases we feel obliged to accept the apology. After listening to the president’s “apology”, I had two choices, to be silent and deal with my concerns privately or to speak out and make my voice heard. I chose […]
Reader Blog
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Posted inNews/Politics
ANC, the real clever blacks
By Lesego Setou I’ve been observing with great interest how the ANC is lining up its election strategy, and the strategy is simple, let’s blame President Jacob Zuma. Local elections are coming and the politicians are nervous, their elevated blood pressure is partly caused by the fear of losing Gauteng due to the e-tolls, not […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
There’s no dignity in education without proper sanitation
By Chandni Gopal and Zandile Ngubeni Human Rights month serves a dual purpose; we are reminded of the sacrifices that accompanied the struggle for the attainment of democracy in South Africa but are also afforded the opportunity to reflect on progress made in the promotion and protection of our hard-earned human rights. With this year […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News/Politics
Alternatives to coal-fired electricity exist but there are no alternatives for water
By Penny-Jane Cooke The last quarter of 2015 saw five out of the nine provinces — KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the North West, including the breadbasket of the country, the Free State — declared as water disaster areas and by extension disaster areas for agriculture. Somehow, the linkages between how the intensive water use for coal-fired […]
Posted inSport
A blueprint for South African football
By Dhirshan Gobind Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers resume at the end of March against mighty Cameroon and it is indeed time to take a look at how the team can turn the tide, climb the world rankings and qualify for big tournaments again. It is fairly obvious that there needs to be […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Fees Must Fall a blessing
By Akhona Landu South African students have a vibrant history of actively contributing towards changing the state of the country’s education system. The students before us stood tall and proud against an oppressive regime that stifled opportunities to excel for students across the country. They were unapologetic in their demands and methods of ensuring that […]
Posted inEquality, Sport
Why quotas in South African sport must fall
By Dhirshan Gobind Quotas in South African sport, conveniently disguised as “transformation”, have long been a contentious issue among administrators, politicians, players and most importantly fans. To tackle this burning issue, we need to go back to its roots. Only then can we deconstruct it, try to understand where it’s going, explain its impracticality and […]
Posted inNews/Politics
I cannot defend Zuma’s decisions anymore
By Mpho Buntse It saddens me to find myself in a position where I’m questioning my loyalty to the ruling party. I’m willing to be seen as a sell-out by my fellow comrades, I’m failing to even defend the decisions taken by the president anymore. These past few years, particularly under the leadership of President […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
UFS clash was bound to happen sooner or later
By Danai Nhando The violent attack of black students that took place at the University of the Free State is a physical manifestation of the volatile state of racial tension in the nation. We have been sitting on a seemingly dormant volcano that has slowly begun to erupt. Many people have voiced their outrage at […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
#Shackville is your struggle too, black graduates
By Michelle October What a time to be alive, students revolting and the flames of rebellion licking at the doors of the colonisers. The Rhodes Must Fall movement’s reignited its efforts and burning historic artworks at the University of Cape Town. This activism could just as easily be airlifted and placed outside Parliament’s doors because […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
In defence of Rhodes Must Fall
By Andrew Verrijdt It’s hard to justify the destruction of historical and cultural items that Rhodes Must Fall is undertaking, and I’m not going to. But how many of us have taken the time to find out what this current protest is actually about? It may interest one to know that the most immediate cause […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Health
Why we need LGBTI hate crime laws
By Oliver Meth and Bongani Sibeko South Africa was the first country in the world to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation. It was the first country in Africa, and the fifth worldwide, to legalise same-sex marriage. This places South Africa at the forefront of global efforts to adopt a comprehensive rights-based approach to the […]